A space to grow

Don’t be BOOBOISIE about this, it’s not elitist or exclusive unless you make it out that way.

Elitism is always the sneer of those that can’t be bothered making the effort to better themselves.

We had a jolly good time on Sunday . A jolly pre-festive turn around the TV , FIlm and broader Arts scene – the recent Turner Prize in particular.

Taking a quick ” what’s on your planner? look at the group TV faves and what an assortment of “stuff”

Everything from : Pretty Little Liars ( and yes it does have its gossip girl merit as a well made , cleverly crafted , easy watching box set ) through to some more series Scandanavian Netflix choice – IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE – a FARGO styled slow dark thriller staring Stellan Skarsgard( of recent BBC River fame )

The theme of River – a cop seeing the shhosts of his murder suspects is echoed again in the 3rd series of THE BRIDGE , a BBC 4 drama currently on Saturdays.

The BRiDGE is widely regarded as the best series on TV – by those in the drama know …

Series 1/2 are available on Netflix and Soohie Helen the lead actress playing the autistic Swedish cop is absolutely stunning to watch as a fantastic acting character study for any female serious about the stage

Any foreign film or series takes a bit of self discipline at the start – you’ve got to get through the first few episodes , to get the plot and a characters and their extended relationships established – thereafter its hook time .

There a French remake of the Bridge currently on Sky Box sets – called the Tunnel – same premise murder half way between two countries and a joint detective team – French and English to investigate – but although good , not a patch on the Danish / Swedish version . The Bridge really takes the IKEA biscuit !

Other Friench series to look at – especially if Higher / advanced Higher French is The Returned – a zombie style horror set in the French Alps

Another great Skandi film to seek out is : Force Majeure

Takes place in the Alps , but centres round a Swedish family skinning there and what happens to them when an avalanche strikes.

Tense , uncomfortable and with a twist at the end !

Once we’d exhausted the female quota of TV we moved on to what our ” Boys ” were watching in contrast

Amongst some great documentaries and comedy highlights , the subject of TOM HANKS arose and we started to think of all the great movies he was in :

Forrest Gump ( all time must see )
Castaway
The Green Mile
The Da Vinci Code
Apollo 13 ( feel good so good )
Saving Private Ryan
Catch me if you can ( personal face of mine )
Philadelphia
Toy Story ( yes!!!)

Another Bridge Reference but this time …in his Recent cinema classic – Bridge of Spies

And the best movie I think he’s more recently made -:

Captain Philips ... The story of the hijacking of a merchant ship off the coast of Somalia and the Pirates that almost ended its maritime life

Gripping , amazing acting …raw !

Very often you get collections of Tom Hanks movies on SKY Movie collections .. Watch some over Christmas from the list above , you won’t be disappointed , start with Forrest and yont stop ” running ” out of inspiration ( scuse the pun )

I also added my own offering of film recommendations on a sea theme

The Big Blue
Pressure
The Abyss

And now thinking about it tangentially how about :

The Sea Within ( Javier Bardem- Spanish )
Beyond the Sea ( story of Bobby Darren the singer , with Kevin Spacey )
The Talented Mr Ripley ( Matt Damon and Jude Law in Venice)
Life of Pi ( rrrrrrr!!!!!!!)

And very randomly now :

Love and Mercy ( Mersea ! ) – currently on Sky Box Office and telling the story of Brian Wilson , lead singers of the Beach Boys – don’t think it’s dated , these Good Vibrations live on amd for those that LOVE MUSic , SINGING and GOOD HARMONIES , a must see …

It features another favourite actress of mine Elizabeth Banks ( Effy Trinket in HG ) as the muse for our hero’s recovery.

Beautiful film , give it a go over Christmas .

What we surmised was that maybe our TV habits shaped our performance , and it might be good to watch stuff we wouldn’t normally , to see if it impacted on our performance in a different way – determined to give this a try we swopped viewing watch lists and will report back our finding ps at the next CC in January 2016

Speaking of findings :

The crazy thing about our individual visits to the Turner was that we all got something new and different from the experience.

Some started off unsure if they liked it or not , if they u deft wood the deeper meaning we were meant to find in the likes of Nicole Wemers – Untitled Chair

But after a session of our own exhibition making – we got more than enough undertstanding and new found respect for this kind of ARt , even on the most basic of enjoyment level

Well probably never look “at a chair with a coat over the back of it” in a dull light again

When is a chair not a chair ?

When it’s in a Spires 1 Culture Club workshop …

And as for singing ? Far from the musical palate , came Our look at Janice Kerbel

Sounds to me like we were having too much fun. DOUG reached the parts other voice workshops failed to hence while reach

Shame she didn’t win !!!!

Which brings me to this question – Did you think ASSEMBLE deserved to with the TURNER PRIZE 2015 ?

Mmmmm…”me no likey” this decision much ..methinks the Art of it was too design architecture , too socially worthy , too right on politically and not enough controversy …

The controversy comes now , as people ask “did it show something Turner new ? ”

I’m going back to the Turner , back because I want to.

Back to see if Bonnie Kaplin is a as deep and meaningful as as Lucy Deehan and Adam Cabuk think, did I not get it the way it was Kant , sorry that’s a Freudian typo , I mean….meant !

Super soldiers roaming the earth like “Manchurian Candidate” ( good film ) styled assassins is one thing , but Art …mmmmm…the jury’s out on that one

If “Crazy” isn’t the word for it , what is ?

I know , how about drama ?

Because very soon we will be making real drama out of the contents of the Turner Prize – years of challenging and ar arresting art , years of people trying to express themselves in a way quite unlike others

And if that’s not a perfect description of Spires Theatre , my name’s not Mhairi Gilbert.

Can’t wait for our next Culture Club , the first of many in 2016.

We’re going all Skandinavian , all cold and dark and intense

Just right for January Blues and snowy Febrauary days

Some Henrik Ibsen , some Peer Gynt , some Finlandia.

Some one better start dusting down her copy of said texts and tune back into Classic FM.

Nothing ventured , nothing regained

I for one felt very at Home in that cosier Sunday space. Hopefully those that joined me did too.

9 Responses to A space to grow

i am not in culture club, however this sounds so amazing an exciting. i find the SKadninavian theme really interesting. that kind of dark and powerful drama, very dramatic and beautiful, i would love to be a part of!

I thought ASSEMBLE was a nice idea. Which is definitely a questionable statement as to wither it is worthy of the prize or not. However part of me says why can't art give something back. This exhibition literally changed people's lives physically. So yes I guess it was a nice concept and idea but questionable of its worth. I really enjoyed last culture club it had a real buzz about it. Was nice to be in an atmosphere like that again has been so long!

Culture club was a breath of fresh air in the panto mayhem over the past month. It was just sheer fun to be with a group of individuals that wanted to debate about art or discuss tv findings or even just listen to you voice some of the most random sounds ever up in a stairwell in spires on a cold sunday morning. I watched the turner prize winner be announced and I must say I was dissappointed as well. Actually maybe not even disappointed, just more like really? is that it? A touching idea, but for me didn't do justice to the artistic genius that is worth of the turner prize. My christmas Tv list is also set, with some scandi drama- the bridge- and also going to give -once upon a time in america- a go, something I wouldn't usually pick but my dad, who definitely would pick this, assures me its good:)) see you in 2016 culture club x

I am not in culture club but i really want to input about the turner prize. Even though ASSEMBLE were more about the architecture I found them to be my joint favorite with Bonnie Camplin. I loved how a group of people could find different ways to use spruce up old buildings that would get demolished other wise and for Bonnie I loved the fact that you could fined ans article or book find a part of the passage you like and photo copy it also with the super human interviews I never had enough time to sit down and watch one but I am going to go back soon just for the fun of it. When I was listening to DOUG I never really got the feel for the character and their bad luck. I could only capture a little bit "I have a daddy-long-legs on my knee." Last but not least Nicole Wermers, I loved looking at the jackets I just found it was not enough for my eyes to look at. If I am going to see some art I would go for something that I can look at for a while and not get over it quickly this never really ticked the box. That is why I am happy that ASSEMBLE or Bonnie Camplin should or have won. P.s I love "The life of pie" it is such a googd film to watch.

This blog was a lovely summary of the artistically educational day I had last Sunday at Culture Club. Coming out of the discussion of what's on our planner I considered myself 'on the way' to becoming more diverse in my viewing habits - however I also found that it may do my performance a positive change to experiment with some more foreign drama. With the Scandinavian theme of our next Culture Club I feel further encouraged to do so and have already got "Frikjent" lined up. I contacted a Finnish family friend of mine who is living in Norway at the moment about her viewing habits, and she RAVED about this programme. Have not had the chance to watch this yet, so I am not necessarily recommending it, but from a brief research of it I am looking forward to watching it. Seems packed with drama - and it will be interesting to see just how it will be Norwegian-ally played out...
Just like Abby had mentioned feeling in her comment above, I too felt enlightened by the sharing of our ideas, preferences and opinions and impressed by the rhetoric put forward by those talking about things they had watched that offered more than what one may at first perceive. Sharing the TV programmes therefore became not only a means of packing our Christmas stockings full of culture but also about learning from and about the other members of the Club. Perspective truly does play it's drama part here, as mine of my fellow Culture Club members was changed after learning of the drama that had changed them.
And YES - the Turner winner has left me feeling uneasy. So much so I too am making a return to the Tramway (I should add - without hesitation). My reaction to Assembles Turner victory I feel is somewhat formed by my lack of ... interest(?)/understanding(?)/involvement(?) ... in their artwork. I don't know what it was - but I was in and out of their ceramic cocoon within a few minutes. Kerbel and Camplin were pieces of art that by their very nature of expression compelled me to explore them for a much longer period of time. Even Wermer up to a point I felt offered ... something ... for me to artistically connect with. Maybe I just didn't give it the time of day - for whatever reason - hence I have made the decision to return and really give myself to it. If you still have not been to the Turner Prize I CANNOT ENCOURAGE YOU ENOUGH the importance of doing so. It is an opportunity that may not regularly present itself so locally to us - and an opportunity of such grandeur that to miss it would be a real shame, and a real loss. Anyway - overall feeling of 'oh-hmmph' - Assemble may have won the Turner Prize but in my opinion it is a pyrrhic victory at best - for I feel the real achievement of this years Turner was the art that truly showed me something new and challenged - but not disregarded - what an artist can exhibit to be able to call their work 'art'.
Can't wait for January and a new year of continued CC gatherings. I have learned so much from a few Sunday morning hours - so here's hoping 2016 can offer me something just as new and thrilling.
Catch you on the flip side Culture Club!
Garth

Culture club is not something that I am in but something that I aspire to be a part of in the future (as with many other things!). I found it very interesting how drama was interpreted so differently through art and how it was more a 'piece of art' than anything else, forgive me if I'm interpreting this wrongly but that's sort of how my brain put it! I watched the documentary on the Turner Prize 2015 and I'm planning to watch the earlier ones to see if can get an even better idea of what it is really about. Because watching the documentary really made me think about the art that was being shown and what it really means.
-Lucy x

When I was watching the turner prize, I must say I was absolutely gutted! I thought that yeh, it was going to the best cause and they would get the most befit out of it... But this is a competition of conceptual art, and I really wouldn't class ASSEMBLE to be the exhibition which left me thinking. For art to really touch me , it needs to leave me thinking about it. I need to be able to create stories in my head about it or interpret it in my own way. ASSEMBLE just left me with a sort of emptiness! Yes, it would make for a very stylish home! But COME ON... It felt totally one dimensional to me, and not a worthy winner in my opinion!
As for culture club, it has left my notebook bursting full of a fruitful concoction of documentaries , series , movies of all kinds! Will certainly be stocking up my planner and Netflix 'to watch' lists over the holidays!
I finished the river last week, I absolutely adored it! The last episode is so touching, I won't spoil it, but you'll get what I mean when you read it :)